COLONY — The town of Colony is seeking a new clerk. At Tuesday night’s meeting, the town council voted to terminate clerk Patricia Ponder, “without prejudice.”

The motion to terminate Ponder, made by Councilwoman Ethel Alexander, took the mayor and other council members by surprise.

“I don’t know where this came from,” said Councilwoman Jasmine Cole, who abstained from the vote. Councilman Eric Carwell was not present, and all other members of the council voted in favor of the motion.

Following the meeting, Mayor Curtis Johnson said he did not know that Alexander was going to make a motion to terminate Ponder.

Shortly after Johnson took office as mayor last year, he’d attempted to fire Ponder, but was not able to get enough votes of the council, as the vote split with Carwell, Alexander and Councilman Samuel Ashford voting to retain Ponder.

After the vote to terminate the clerk, the meeting continued with Ponder taking minutes. During public comments, a resident asked how long it would take to find another clerk and if Ponder would be staying on to work out a notice and help train the new clerk.

“I don’t have any of those details,” Ponder replied, before adding, “I can answer some of them tonight” as she placed her city cell phone and keys to town hall on the council table and left the building.

Ponder has served as town clerk for the past eight years.

“We do appreciate her years of service,” said resident Gwendolyn Purifoy.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the council tabled a resolution to provide the mayor with a discretionary fund after noting that the first reading of the resolution said the fund would be for $500, but the final document said $300.

A resolution to change the frequency of the town meetings to once a month died for lack of a second.

Cole reported that the town gym received a 97 on inspection by the County Health Department, and that there is a window that needs to be fixed.

The council also heard from Lt. Ryan Fortenberry of the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office who warned residents not to leave valuable items in vehicles, and said catalytic converter thefts are on the rise, and asked people to be on the lookout. He said church buses are prime targets for catalytic converter thefts, so they should be parked in a well-lit area if possible.